A World of Lies
by Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416
Summary: Full summary inside.
1. A World of Lies Summary

Max is sucked away and is taken to the Chess tournament in Merano, Italy, 1979. When she arrives, she meets Florence and learns something unexpected—Florence is really her aunt and Maya is her twin sister. Will Max get Florence to forgive Jeb—for abandoning her and the rest of the family before the attack in 1956 that destroyed her childhood—and will Max and Maya forgive Fang in the process or will she lose her whole family?


	2. Angel's Not Dead, Fang!

_A World of Lies_

_Max's POV_

"She's not dead," I yelled at Fang. "Since we haven't found her body it means that there's a chance Angel's still alive!"

Fang sighed and said, "Max, give it up. Angel is dead."

I glared at him and suddenly I felt cold.

Dylan snapped his all-seeing eyes away from me, toward something headed toward us.

"Everyone, let's move!" he yelled.

I froze and watched as everyone fled.

Dylan stared at me and said, "Max, come on."

"I'm not leaving," I replied. "I won't give up on Angel. She's never given up on me and I won't give up on her."

"I don't want to give up on Angel either, but if you don't leave, something will happen to you," he argued.

I pulled away and said, "Look after the others until I return to the hotel."

"I'm checking _that_ out," I muttered pointing at the fast moving cyclone / tornado thing headed towards Dylan and me.

Dylan knew it was pointless to argue with me and watched and I walked toward the unknown object.

Suddenly, I vanished and as I disappeared, the last thing I heard was Fang, Dylan, and Maya yelling one word—my name.


	3. Where is Max? Will We See Her Again?

_Maya's POV_

I stumbled blindly forward, refusing to believe what I had seen. "She's not gone," I mumbled brokenly.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I whirled, snarling, only to come face to face with Fang—and Dylan.

"We're all in agreement here," Fang said awkwardly. "We want Max back. We have to find where she is…"

He trailed off, and saw Dylan and Kate digging a few miles away.

"Guys, can we focus on Max?" Fang called.

"Hold on a second, Fang. I think I saw Angel. Max would kill me if I left her," Dylan replied.

We all ran over and as soon as Angel was free, I snatched her away from Dylan and hugged her firmly.

For the next ten minutes, we all hugged Angel and were thrilled to see her again.

Then she asked the question we'd been dreading.

"Where's Max?"

I looked at Dylan and he said, "She's in the past somewhere."

"The past?" Fang yelled.

"How do we get her back," I asked, shaking, nearly in tears.

"Maya, what has gotten into you?" Fang asked, coolly.

I slapped him as hard as I could. "You jerk!" I snarled. "Max could—_possibly_—be my twin and you're acting like she doesn't matter! She does! She matters to Dylan—and to me!"

He nodded and said, "OK, Dylan, you and Ratchet are in charge of locating Max. Maya, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, Star, Kate, Holden, and I will find or make a time machine to get Max back. If we find Jeb, Dr. Martinez, and Ella in the process, we bring them with us."

We all nodded and split up—we had to save Max.


	4. Meeting Florence Vassy and Freddie Trump

Max's POV

I sat up slowly, glancing around.

"Freddie, I love you, but please, just this once, don't go on about the Russians at the press conference," I heard a beautiful, dark-haired woman beg a blonde-haired man.

He nodded and then said, "Wait, Florence. Who's the girl over there?"

I hesitated, but then realized he meant me.

I sprang to my feet and glared at him.

He walked over to me and snapped, "Are you a Russian spy?"

"Freddie!" Florence yelled.

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, I'm Maximum Ride, and I'm Avian American."

"What?" Freddie—the man—paused.

I took off, then, racing around the block—not they knew that.

_Come on, Dylan, come on,_ I thought. _Find me. Come get me already._

He growled and said, "We'll go after her later."

Florence looked thoughtfully in the direction I had run.

"What is it?" he asked.

"That girl—she looks like someone I once knew—my older brother, Jeb Vassy," Florence said, slowly, confused.

"She has his hair and the family stubbornness," she continued.

I returned and slipped silently up behind her.

Freddie glared at me and I glared back.

"Behave," Florence snapped.

We both nodded and she said, "OK, Maximum, so are you on the East or the West?"

"West," I answered, not really knowing what was going on.

She nodded and said, "OK, that young man over there is Frederick Trumper, current Chess World Champion, and I am Florence Vassy, his second."

"Second?" I repeated, confused.

"I basically am his assistant," she said, trying to explain.

"Oh," I realized. "Like you're his second in command."

She nodded and said, "I guess that works."

Frederick later stormed off during the press conference.


	5. Max IS My Twin & Fang, You're a Jerk

Maya's POV

We soon found Jeb and Dr. Martinez, along with Ella. I immediately said, "Alright, Jeb, who're my parents?"

He took a deep breath and said, "You're Max's identical twin sister, Maya."

I froze and, but once my brain started working again, stalked over to Fang and slapped him as hard as I could.

"OW!" he yelled.

"Maya, what was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his now bruised face.

"You jerk dumped my twin sister and didn't even break up with her face to face!" I yelled. "You left her a note! Then just took off! You left her to deal with the others and didn't even think of it would hurt her and the others!"

"How do you know about the note?" he asked.

"She told me—last night," I replied automatically. "She showed me it too."

He glared at me and I said, "Fang, I'd rather rejoin Max than stick around with you."

His jaw dropped and said, "As far as she knows, you're just her clone."

"I'll fix that," I declared stubbornly, walking over to where Dylan, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Total were all standing around, watching me fight with Fang.

Star and Kate quickly followed me, as did Holden, Ratchet, Dr. Martinez, and Jeb— I mean Mom and Dad— and Ella. I looked at Fang and he said, "All right, Maya, you win. Let's get Max back."


	6. Where I Want To Be

_Anatoly's POV_

I glanced at Molokov and he said, "There. A perfect demonstration that your opponent is a lunatic."

I frowned and said, "He's unpredictable. He's dangerous. Which proves he's not insane."

He sighed and left the room. Then I said, "Who needs a dream? Who needs ambition? Who'd be the fool in my position? Once I had dreams; now they're obsessions. Hopes became needs—lovers possessions. Then they move in, oh, so, discreetly, slowly at first—smiling too sweetly. I opened doors—they walked right through them, called me their friend—I hardly knew them. Now I'm where I want to be and who I want to be and doing what I said I always and yet I feel I haven't won at all. Running for my life, and never looking back in case there's someone right behind to shoot me and say he always knew I'd fall. When the crazy wheel slows down, where will I be? Back where I started. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Times have been good—fast, entertaining. But what's the point if I'm concealing not only love, all other feeling? Now I'm where I want to be and who I want to be and doing what I said I always would and yet I feel I haven't won at all. I'm running for my life, and never looking at back, in case there's someone right behind to shoot me down and say he always knew I'd fall. When the crazy wheel slows down, where will I be? Back where I started."

Then some guy came in and said, "I have a chess game for a Mr. Sergievsky."

I glared at him and snapped, "Go to hell."


	7. Prep for Chess Game 1

_Max's POV_

A few days after I arrived, it was the day of the first game of the first match of the chess tournament.

Florence came in and, shook my shoulder, saying, "Max, get up. We have to go ahead of Freddie and meet the Soviets."

I got up, noting right away the disgust in her tone at the word, Soviets. What was wrong with the Soviets?

I went with Florence to breakfast and while we were there, I asked, "Florence, what's wrong with the Soviets? What makes them so bad—so evil?"

She sighed and said, "I'll explain on the way there, but promise me, you'll behave at the chess game. I can't handle dealing with you losing your temper—not that I'm implying you have a short temper, but if your father is who I think he is—you _will_ have a short temper, like myself—and Freddie's anti-Soviet attitude."

I nodded and then asked, "Who do you _think_ my father is?"

"I think you're my niece," Florence admitted. "I think your father is my older brother, Jeb Vassy. He disappeared in 1956, right before the Soviet attack when Father was taken away, and I had to flee the land that once was Hungary."

I nodded and said, "I'm so sorry, Florence."

She smiled weakly and said, "We'd better leave if we want to get there on time for the pre-game prep."

I grinned and we quickly left the restaurant.


	8. Here's What's Wrong With The Soviets!

_Florence's POV_

I looked at Max again. She reminded me so much of my big brother. Jeb, I missed him so much. I missed Mom and Dad.

Max looked at me expectantly and asked, "Now, Florence?"

I nodded and said, "The reason why I work for Freddie and not Sergievsky is because, back in 1956, the Soviets attacked Hungary, taking away my home, my family, my people, and my land. I have lived in America for the past twenty-three years, but I will _always_ consider myself Hungarian, and never American. Hungary is my home, but I do not remember it. I was five at the time of the attack—Jeb was about fifteen—and when I escaped, I called myself, 'Florence Batchelder'—what kind of a last name is that…"

Max interrupted and said, "Florence, my dad's name is Jeb Batchelder…"

"And your point is," I demanded.

"I think he changed his name to Batchelder and left papers with the same last name for you to smuggle you out of Hungary with him, but never got the chance," Max said calmly. "It's so like him to pull a stunt like that."

I nodded and said, "I hope you're right."

Max nodded and said, "We'll find out, once my family comes for me."

"Your family?" I asked.

"Yeah," Max admitted.

"Mom—Dr. Martinez—Dad—Jeb—Ella, Dylan, Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Fang, Maya, Holden, Ratchet, Kate, and Star," she named the members of her family. Soon, we reached the arena where the chess game would occur and hurried inside.


	9. Jeb's Past

_Maya's POV_

After finding Jeb, Dr. Martinez, and Ella—it was hard to think of them as my family, we all turned to Dylan and Ratchet.

"Well, where's Max?" Fang asked.

Dylan sighed and said, "She's in Merano, Italy, at the second to last Chess World Championship, in 1979. If we don't find her then and there, our last hope is Bangkok, 1980."

Jeb froze and said, "That championship tournament was Frederick Trumper's last time as champion. He retired after losing to Anatoly Sergievsky and attended the tournament in Bangkok as a member of the press. And I think I know his second."

"Who is it?" I asked.

"My younger sister, Florence," Jeb answered slowly. "She would be your Aunt Florence Vassy."

"What are you saying, Jeb?" Dylan asked.

He took a deep breath and said, "When I was a boy, I was not known as Jeb Batchelder. Then I was Jeb Vassy. Jeb Vassy remained my name until I was disowned in 1956 for my shall we call them 'risky and illegal' experiments. I did them in secret. My father—Mother died when Florence was born—did not approve. He tried to inspire in the two of us, a love of chess. When the government found out about my experiments, I was ready to flee—false identity—Jeb Batchelder, ironically—made, with papers—I planned to take my sister with me, because I'd heard rumors about the Soviets invading Hungary. I had to get at least Florence—and me—out of Hungary. I told Dad what I'd heard…"

* * *

_Flashback_

_Jeb's POV_

"_Hi, Dad," I called, jogging in the front door. "Hello, Jeb," he said sternly. I sighed—I wasn't good enough for him. Then I saw my younger sister, Florence. I dropped my bag and held out my arms. "Jeb!" she screamed, running and jumping into my arms. I hugged her and, still holding her, asked, "So, who won this game?" "I did," she giggled. I grinned and said, "Why don't you go to your room for a few minutes. I have to talk to Dad." She frowned and said, "Alright, but you'll come talk to me, right?" I nodded and said, "Sure thing, Baby Florence." She pouted and said, "Don't call me that, Jebby." I rolled my eyes and said, "Why not?" I asked. "I dunno," she replied. I grinned and hugged her again and then she jumped to the ground and raced up to her room. "What did you do now, Jeb?" Dad immediately snapped. "Why is that every time I want to talk to you, you assume, I did something wrong?" I replied. "Did you do something wrong?" he asked. "No," I replied. "Then what is it?" he asked. "I was talking to some friends at school, and I'm not sure if I believe them, but they heard from their parents that the Soviets are coming. We have to get Florence out of here!" I said, worried about my baby sister. "Don't be ridiculous, Jeb. We are safe here," my father replied. I glared at him and snarled, "Do you care about Florence or not?" "Silence, Jeb! I will not be spoken to in my home!" Dad snapped at me. I sighed and decided to try a different angle. "Dad, even if the Soviets don't come, I think we should have an escape plan—for me and Florence. I'll drop out of school and send Florence to school. She can sign up for chess club somewhere..." I began. "Chess club?" he snapped. "What are you trying to do? Turn your sister in a chess playing machine?" "No, you are," I snarled. "All you do with her is play chess. Let her learn other things—besides chess. The only history she knows is the history of chess. The only game she knows is chess. She needs more than chess." Father slapped me and snarled, "You are no longer my son." I nodded and said, "I'll leave after I've talked to Florence." "Stay away from my daughter," Father replied. I glared and said, "I will save Florence. You can't stop me." He glared at me and left the room to pack to leave. Florence saw me and said, "What happened, Jeb?" "Dad and I got into a fight," I began. "Again?" she asked. I nodded and she said, "I'll go make it better." I caught her arm and said, "Florence, don't bother. He's already disowned me." She looked at me and said, "Don't go, Jeb, please, don't go." I shook my head and reached into my bag, pulling out a pile of papers. "Hide these in your room," I ordered. "If the Soviets come, you'll need a fake ID to escape. Once you're safe, look me up." She nodded and I kissed her forehead, and slipped off into my room, where I grabbed some clothes, my experiments and supplies and fled Hungary, eventually reaching the United States._

_End Flashback_

* * *

_Maya's POV_

"Then I had no choice but to flee that very night and, after my final conversation with her, never saw my baby sister again. She may be mad at me and I don't blame her, but I will regain her trust and earn her forgiveness before we return with Max," he finished.

I nodded and said, "We'll just need a time machine…"

While Jeb was talking to me, Dr. Martinez and Ella snuck off and returned with a time machine.

We looked at it and then everyone jumped in the time machine. I held out my left fist and everyone stacked their left fists on top. Then I yelled, "For Max!"

"For Max! For Max!" everyone repeated. With that, we were off to Merano, Italy.

* * *

**A/N. Hey everyone. I have a poll and I need you to vote. Who will get sacrificed to Max's wrath when Angel disappears-_again_? Go to my profile and vote now.**


	10. Game 1 and Meeting Molokov & Sergiesvky

_Max's POV_

Florence and I soon reached the location of the tournament. The other guy's second smiled and said, "Miss Vassy."

"Mr. Molokov," Florence—who might really be my aunt, but we'd agreed we'd pretend she was my aunt to explain why I was here—replied much more politely than I'd expected or was able.

"Who's the girl with you?" he asked.

I bristled and she caught my arm, shaking her head at me. "You promised," she hissed at me.

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest, and Florence quickly said, "You must forgive my niece. She takes after her father."

"You had siblings?" Molokov's jaw fell opened and I grinned.

"One brother. He died a few months ago, in Germany," she continued. "So, before he died, he learned that I'd be coming to Merano and made me stop in Germany to pick his daughter, Maxine Vassy, up."

I scowled at Florence.

She stomped on my foot and hissed, "I know it's girly, but it's the best I could up with, without using your real name, Max.

Then she turned back to Molokov and said, "But he said to call her Max, because she hates being called Maxine."

"Well, then, Miss Max Vassy, it is an honor to meet you," he said politely. "My name is Alexander Molokov."

"It is an honor to meet you as well, Mr. Molokov," I replied automatically, biting my tongue and fighting my true nature.

Then he turned back to Florence and asked, "Why is she here with you?"

I jumped in and said, "Well, Auntie Florence couldn't find anyone to look after me while she was away and I really wanted to see Frederick play chess, in the world championship tournament, and Auntie Florence wanted to make sure I stayed out of trouble, so she decided to keep me with her."

Florence looked at me and raised her eyebrows, saying, "Auntie Florence?"

"What?" I shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and Molokov said, "So, you hope to learn from the best, Maxine?"

"Max," Florence and I immediately corrected.

Molokov ignored us and said, "You should be with me and Anatoly Sergievsky. Then you can watch a true champion."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'll stay with Auntie Florence."

"Don't overdo it," Florence hissed to me in a low voice.

I nodded and he snapped, "So, you'll stay with a loser?"

I stiffened and suddenly stalked off. "I'll go after her," Florence said rapidly.

* * *

_Florence's POV_

I soon caught up with Max and said, "Max, what's wrong?"

"I really want to just take a swing at Molokov," she admitted. "I really want to."

"Why?" I asked.

"He's aggravating me and it's my nature to hurt those who wish me harm or to those I care about," I explained.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"I feel threatened by Molokov," I explained. "I think he's threatening me, you, and Freddie."

I nodded and said, "Let's go back in, and pretend this never happened."

She smiled and we hurried back in, only to see Freddie flip the board and leave in a huff.

* * *

**A/N. Hey everyone. I have a poll and I need you to vote. Who will get sacrificed to Max's wrath when Angel disappears-_again_? Go to my profile and vote now.**


	11. Oh No, Angel's Missing!

_Maya's POV_

When we arrived in Merano, I called, "Head count."

"Fang here," Fang called.

"Ratchet here," Ratchet called.

"Holden here," Holden called.

"Star here," Star called.

"Kate here," Kate called.

"Maya here," I called.

"Jeb here," Jeb called.

"Dr. Martinez here," Dr. Martinez called.

"Ella here," Ella called.

"Dylan here," Dylan called.

"Iggy here," Iggy called.

"Nudge here," Nudge began and everyone quickly turned their attention to the Gasman.

"Gasman here," the nine-year-old called.

We waited, but didn't hear Angel.

"Angel?" I called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Fang called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Holden called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Gazzy called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Nudge called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Ratchet called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Jeb called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Dr. Martinez called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Ella called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Kate called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Star called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Iggy called.

There was no answer.

"Angel?" Dylan called.

There was no answer.

Then I yelled, "Angel, where are you?"

There was still no answer.

I slumped in my seat and groaned. "Ohmigod," I murmured. "Angel's missing and Max is going to shoot us."

"Actually, we don't all have to get shot," Dylan pointed out. "We can just sacrifice one person to her wrath and vote on that now."

I took a deep breath and said, "I can't. I have to convince Max I'm her twin."

"I can't," Dylan said. "I'm bound to Max and I cannot hurt her."

"I can't," Iggy said. "I'm blind, so I wouldn't be able to see her."

"I can't," Jeb said. "I have to deal with Florence."

"I can't," Gazzy said. "I'd make someone sick."

Nudge laughed and Ella said, "I can't. I don't want to risk me still being brainwashed."

Dr. Martinez said, "I can't. I need to explain my actions to Max and I really don't feel getting into that right now."

Holden said, "I can't. I still need to train."

Ratchet, Star, and Kate all nodded in agreement.

Nudge said, "I can't. If I go, Max will get mad at me and I won't shut up and she'll get annoyed and then when she finally does learn that Angel's missing, she's gonna go charging off."

Dylan scowled and said, "She does _not_ go charging off."

"Yes, she does," everyone chorused.

"Her name is Maximum Charging Off Ride," Total called from the backseat where Angel had been.

"Hey, Total," I called. "Is Angel asleep back there?"

"No," he called back. "I'm not facing Max. She'll kill me."

I sighed and looked at Fang. "No," he said immediately. "Maya, do not give me that look. Max is already mad at me and if I say Angel's missing, she will, without hesitation, kill me. I like being alive, thank you very much."

I glared at him and said, "No one goes off this ship until we've chosen someone to face the wrath of Max."

Everyone nodded and we argued over to send to deal with Max.

Then Jeb spoke up. "Maya, hopefully Max is with Florence," he began. "I'll deal with Florence and the other can deal with Max. After we're done talking, we both run like hell."

I nodded and said, "That will be the plan, but who's going to deal with Max?"

Everyone shrugged and we waited for someone to be voted as our sacrifice to Max's wrath.

* * *

**A/N. Hey everyone. I have a poll and I need you to vote. Who will get sacrificed to Max's wrath when Angel disappears-_again_? Go to my profile and vote now.**


	12. Author's Note

_**A/N. Hey guys, listen up. I have a poll for deciding who gets sacrificed to Max's wrath and tells her that Angel's missing. So far, no one, besides me, has voted on it. So vote for who you want to sacrifice to Max's wrath or I won't update this story anymore and you'll never know Max's reaction, if Angel is found, and if the person is killed. It's on my profile and if no one else votes, the person I voted for to be the sacrifice will be the one sent. I want someone to say I think so-and-so should face Max. So go vote.  
**_


	13. Author's Note 2

**_A/N. Hey guys, thanks for all the votes so far. We're halfway done. Just 50 more votes and you'll learn who gets sacrificed to Max's wrath. So be sure to vote.  
_**


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